Breakthrough Prize 2026: Winners

Recipients

1. Albert Maguire, Jean Bennett, Katherine A. High

   Biology

   For developing a therapy for inherited retinal degeneration that became the first FDA-approved gene therapy for a genetic disease.

2. Bryan Traynor, Rosa Rademakers

   Biology

   For the discovery of the most common genetic cause of ALS and frontotemporal dementia which charted the path for new mechanistic studies of these diseases.

3. Stuart H. Orkin, Swee Lay Thein

   Biology

   For elucidating the mechanism driving the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin and validating it as a therapeutic target for sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia.